Honors Program in Psychology

The Honors Program in Psychology provides a challenging course of study for Psychology majors with a distinguished academic record, a desire to obtain research experience and the commitment to devote a substantial amount of time in their junior and senior years to completing an individually conceptualized and independently conducted research project. This program provides more motivated and accomplished students with the research experience necessary for graduate education in psychology and other scientifically or professionally oriented fields.

The Honors Program in Psychology consists of a two-semester seminar sequence (PSYC498: Thesis Development Seminar and PSYC 499: Honors Thesis Seminar) and an oral presentation. In this program, students complete an independent project and gain hands-on experience in generating, conducting, analyzing and communicating the results of empirical psychological research. Students who complete the program are eligible to graduate with the designation Honors in Psychology.

Criteria for Acceptance into the Program:

Prior to the start of the program, applicants should: (1) be a declared Psychology major; (2) have a major and overall GPA of 3.5 or higher; (3) have completed General Psychology, Psychological Statistics, Research Design (or the equivalent for transfer students), and (4) have at least two semesters of course work to complete. Advanced Research Methods is also recommended, but may be taken the same semester as the first course of the series (PSYC 498: Thesis Development Seminar). This course is taken during the spring semester, and the second course (PSYC 499: Honors Thesis Seminar) is taken the following fall semester.